Every Little Thing
by ImaginaryFlower
Summary: Miki and Kiyoteru barely managed to escape the hell known as Vocaloid House. Not two weeks after settling into their new home, Miki finds a lost little girl in the park. How can a little girl with her own painful memories help these two come to terms with their own pasts? Sequel to The Meaning of My Existence. Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

**Every Little Thing**

**Miki and Kiyoteru barely managed to escape the hell known as Vocaloid House. Not two weeks after settling into their new home, Miki finds a lost little girl in the park. How can a little girl with her own painful memories help these two come to terms with their own pasts?**

**Pairings: Minor KiyoteruxMiki, minor OliverxMiku, hinted/mentioned others**

**Rating: K+**

**Genres: Family, hurt/comfort**

**Characters: Yuki K., Kiyoteru H., SF-A2 Miki**

**Warnings: mentions of suicide, bullying, major character death. Other warnings will be added at the beginning of each chapter when needed.**

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**Well, we're finally here. The sequel that's been long overdue for a while. I cranked out a few chapters yesterday and decided that I was far enough ahead to post this. **

**Keep in mind that future chapters will be longer and that this chapter is at least six months old, so the quality of the writing might be better later on. I'll let the reader be the judge of that, though.**

**If anyone has any pairings or characters they might want to see in this or issues from the last story they want addressed, I will comply to the best of my ability.**

**If you have not read The Meaning of My Existence and have clicked on this story: I would suggest reading that first, though it isn't necessary.**

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SF-A2 Miki was not a confident girl. On the contrary, she had been adapted to think that she was the epitome of all things pathetic and horrible in the world. This was not to say this was true. In reality, Miki was a calm, quiet girl with a heart made more of silver and gold than lead and iron. She was pretty and had a chirpy voice that made her seem all the more adorable. She was not pathetic. She was not horrible. And she was not perfect. Then again, neither is anyone else, so this goes without saying.

The reason Miki thought if herself so poorly was because of her years spent in Vocaloid House. While she was made to look a certain age (around twenty or so), she was, in reality, about four years old. She had been created four years ago, a little before her companion and match Kiyoteru. Those four years had been the worst of her entire life. She had not been a popular Vocaloid. She might as well have been an UTAUloid for all the respect she got.

See, Vocaloid House was a very complicated place. All Vocaloids and UTAUloids (save for the few who were brave enough to run like hell and find a new place to live) lived there. It used to be peaceful, Miki had been told. But that was before she had been built. Before, every android (for that is what UTAUloids and Vocaloids were) had been equal. But somewhere along the way, that system had broken. Nearly everyone blamed this invisible break on Hatsune Miku, the blue-haired diva, the most popular and well-known Vocaloid. A few Utauloids who had been made before Miki informed the red-head that not long ago, Miku had been friends with many of them. The reason behind her sudden change of heart was unknown (and Miki didn't care to know), but everyone hoped that, someday, everything could go back to how it had been before.

Miki didn't think sticking around and waiting would be the best option. So she and Kiyoteru and left; together, of course. For one to leave without the other would be far too painful to bear. As companions, Miki and Kiyoteru had literally been made for each other. This was not a romantic thing. It could be but more often than not, android companions were the closest of friends. They could rely on each other no matter what. They would always be together. If they weren't, it would hurt. Not physically. It would be as though the android in question was living without their legs or arms. Part of them would simply be missing. This is the best way to explain it.

So Miki and Kiyoteru disappeared. Where to, they had no idea. No one did. They were completely off the radar.

The two spent a total of five days homeless. This isn't quite so horrible for an android. They don't need to eat or drink or sleep. The only thing they lacked was a proper place to charge. Darting into a library every other day and hooking yourself up to an outlet would be suspicious, as well as expensive. So after those five days, Miki managed to find them both a job and a place to live.

The job wasn't so bad. They were bartenders at a local bar. They slept in the apartment above it. The owner didn't much care about the little business. He was a rich fellow with a habit of abandoning his plans halfway through. The bar would eventually become one of those ideas. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We're still at the part where they finally found a place to stay.

The job was decent. The apartment, a two bedroom, one bath, was a bit on the small side, but it didn't matter much as they had nothing to bring into it. Their lives were now as empty as their living room.

It took a while to settle in. Waking up early in the morning was strange for Miki. So was being hit on every other hour, but Kiyoteru and Miki (who were both built quite attractively) got used to this. As long as they were safe and far away from Vocaloid House, Miki was content.

Of course, four years of psychological damage doesn't disappear so easily. They both had a rough road ahead. But they had years ahead of them; years to be happy and to get better. The prospect that Miki could make something useful of herself kept her going longer than she ever thought possible.

One week and two days after they settled into their new apartment, Miki found herself walking home in the cold weather just after the sky had finally gone dark. This wasn't something she enjoyed very much, but she thought their apartment could do with a few things. Namely, books and DVDs. They had already managed to procure a small television from a garage sale and Miki knew Kiyoteru was beginning to get bored of rereading the same book over and over again. The man was a genius, even for an android. He could read a book in no more than an hour. Usually, Miki could spend between six days and six months on a book. She wasn't much of a reader.

Nevertheless, she thought Kiyoteru would appreciate the gesture. He was so quiet Miki rarely knew what went on his head, but she knew this was something he'd like.

Smiling to herself, Miki drew the bag closer to her chest and walked quietly past the park. Her shoes made a loud clunking sound against the pavement in the near silence and Miki was glad for the chance to be alone.

This was before she heard the chain of the swing clang loudly.

With a quiet yelp, she spun to look at the swing set, which she hadn't paid any attention o before. On one of the swings sat a little girl with raven hair pulled back into two little pigtails at the base of her skull. She wore warm clothes, though on her feet sat a pair of boots that were clearly too small. Her feet scuffed at the ground and her eyes kept to lap. Her hands, which were bare, looked red and cold. She hadn't noticed Miki, or, if she had, she just didn't care.

"Don't you know what time it is?" Miki asked after a bit of an internal struggle. The girl looked up swiftly then relaxed when she saw the small red-head who spoke to her.

Miki didn't know a single thing about children. She lived with androids who had been designed as teenagers and young adults and acted accordingly (unless you happened to be Teto Kasane, who had a class all of her own). She hoped she hadn't sounded cruel or mean, but honestly. Why was this child out here?

"I lost track," the girl replied. "What time is it?"

"Almost eight thirty," Miki replied. "Where are you parents?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't know."

"How long have you been here?" Miki demanded quizzically.

"A few hours," the girl told her. "I don't know."

"Do you know where you live?" Miki asked, coming a bit closer to the girl. She nodded in response. "I can help you get home if you want-"

"I don't," the girl interjected. "I can stay here."

Miki blinked. She was sure that no one else would ever simply let a child sleep in a park. Who knew what might happen to her? In this weather, she might freeze!

"Why don't you come home with me?" Miki offered. "In the morning, we can talk about this."

The girl agreed with a simple nod and slid from her swing to take Miki's hand.

Miki didn't think this would be a good thing to do. Wasn't this technically kidnapping? But she looked so cold. And Miki could tell the girl clearly didn't want to go home, wherever home might be. It was scary to think that everyday horrors existed outside Vocaloid House, but this little girl who couldn't be guilty of anything more than stealing an extra cookie had clearly seen a few. Miki didn't want to jump to conclusions, but maybe it would be better for the girl if she didn't get back home.

Besides, it was for the night. Just for the night. Tomorrow, she'd think of a better solution.

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**Review if that's your thing! If not, I'll see you next chapter, which will be posted on Saturday. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Another short chapter. I'm feeling quite unmotivated lately, so I apologize for the quality.**

**Oh! And I'm going to start rewriting ****The Meaning of My Existence**** soon. Just a heads-up for anyone who cares.**

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"Why do you have a child?" was the first thing out of Kiyoteru's mouth when she returned home. Miki knew he hadn't meant to sound so cold, but the girl in question moved to hide behind her all the same. With a sigh, Miki shot him a look and pulled the little girl with her as she moved to drop her bags on the coffee table in the living room. Kiyoteru sat on the couch, a cheap piece of furniture a customer at the bar offered them for a low price. His glasses were sliding down the bridge of his nose as he focused on an old crossword puzzle, which was nearly done. No doubt he hadn't been at it very long, either.

"I have a child because the child was left alone in a park," Miki told him. "Don't be so rude when we have a guest."

Kiyoteru gave her a look before glancing back down at his puzzle. Miki glanced at him before speaking again.

"There are books in the bag, if you're interested."

Kiyoteru waited for her to head to the kitchen, but as soon as she and the child were out of the room, she heard the bag rustle. She smiled slightly before directing the girl to one of the two kitchen chairs, where she sat in her winter clothes and boots. Snow dripped from her boots and onto the tiled floor of the kitchen.

"How about some tea? Or hot chocolate?" _What do kids prefer? _Miki wondered as she asked.

"I like hot chocolate," the girl replied.

"Oh, good. I think we have more of that than tea," Miki said before turning to start to process of making some. She was still in her shoes and coat as well, though she had tugged off her gloves and set them on the table.

"Let's see," Miki wondered aloud to herself. She opened the fridge and glanced inside briefly, hoping they had milk. They did, though whether it was still good or not was another matter.

This was the problem with androids. Though they could eat, they didn't have to, so they tended to pay less attention to expiration dates and bought less food. As it was, their fridge was pretty empty, containing half a carton of milk and a few bruised apples. In the freezer was some ice cream and in the cupboards were hot chocolate mix, microwavable popcorn, some peanut butter, and bread. Maybe some cereal, too, though Kiyoteru could have finished that off this morning. She wasn't completely sure.

How was a kid supposed to make a meal of that mess?

Sighing, Miki set a pan on the stove to boil the milk. This was how Luka had made hot chocolate, so she liked to do it this way, too. Setting three mugs down on the counter (just in case Kiyoteru wanted some), Miki turned to the girl and put on her best cheerful smile. As far as she could tell, the kid did not look convinced.

"Miki."

She nearly jumped as Kiyoteru entered the room, one of his new books in hand.

Eying the girl, he asked, "How long is out guest going to be here?"

Miki blinked. "Um," she began. "I don't know?"

Kiyoteru gave her that look that made her feel like the stupidest person on the planet and redirected his attention to the girl in the kitchen chair.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Yuki," she replied.

"I'm Kiyoteru. How old are you?"

"I'm turning ten soon. I think. What day is it?" the girl, Yuki, said.

"Do you mean 'what's the date?'" Kiyoteru said patiently.

The girl thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess."

"It's December eleventh."

"Oh."

"Why oh?"

"My birthday was the fourth."

She had missed her birthday. Though Miki had never put a lot of stock in her own "birthday," it must be important to humans, especially kids. How had she managed to miss it in the first place?

It was quite sad, actually. Miki couldn't explain why, but it was. From an android's perspective, it typically wouldn't be. But the look on the kid's face… It made her heart hurt.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

The exchange was all very odd for Miki. To see Kiyoteru interact so well with a child when he rarely interacted with anyone at all was quite a sight, though she couldn't say she hated it. Actually, it was sort of cute.

"Happy late birthday, Yuki," Kiyoteru told her. "Let's celebrate with Miki's hot chocolate, shall we?"

The girl brightened a bit at this. "Okay," she agreed. Her cheeks were significantly less pink at this point, which Miki took to mean that she was warming up. How long had the poor kid been out, anyway? Miki didn't even want to think about it, but she was. The thought just kept popping into her mind, even as she tried to ignore it.

"It's good!" Yuki said. "Thanks!"

Miki couldn't help but smile. How long had it been since someone other than Kiyoteru had said something like that to her? Just a simple thanks?

The short answer was that it had been too long. Far too long.

"You're welcome, Yuki," Miki told her softly. _You don't know how welcome you are._

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Miki settled the girl on the couch, which was luckily a pull-out. It was obvious she wasn't going out any time soon, and it wouldn't hurt to have her sleep there for the night. Yuki had reassured them that no one was looking for her, though Miki wasn't sure how she felt about that.

Yuki fell asleep quickly, which left Kiyoteru and Miki to have a conversation in one of their bedrooms. Neither of their rooms was especially furnished yet, with only a few outfits in their closets and bear beds. The extent of the decoration were the curtains hanging over the windows, which made both rooms seem cold and uninviting. That was just fine for Kiyoteru, but Miki felt so unwelcome in her own home. She'd have to save up some money to buy some nice things for the house.

"How long is she going to be here?" Kiyoteru asked quietly, weary of the thin walls. He and Miki were in her room, where her charger was hooked up next to her bed.

"I don't know. I intend to call someone in the morning," Miki reassured him. She couldn't really read how he was reacting to the situation and was a bit nervous. She knew Kiyoteru would never hurt her or yell at her, but confrontation of any kind made her nervous, and this topic had the makings of an argument. Miki didn't like it at all.

"Good," Kiyoteru said. "She needs someone to be aware of her situation."

"You think...?"

"I don't know what to think," Kiyoteru interrupted. "But that girl isn't being taken care of properly. You were right to bring her here."

"I was?"

Kiyoteru gave her an interesting look. "Completely," he confirmed. "I'm not a big fan of kids, but if there's something going on back at Yuki's home, she needs someone's help. Not us, but the law."

Miki nodded. She was glad that's what Kiyoteru thought, because she agreed completely. She was worried about Yuki, despite not knowing her very well. She was so thin and ill-dressed for the cold. And she had been alone. What was going on with her? Where were her parents?

"We'll call the police in the morning," Kiyoteru stated. "For now, I think we should get to bed, too."

Miki had to agree. She felt worn from the day's events, though technically she had a few days of battery life left in her. Even an android can reach the point where they're simply done.

"Alright," Miki said. "Goodnight, Kiyoteru."

"Goodnight, Miki," he kissed the top of her head and left, allowing her to slide into her pajamas in privacy.

Miki sighed. She had a feeling tomorrow would be a lot more work than today.

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**Review if that's your thing. If not, I'll see you next week with a new chapter!**


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